Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, known as in Japan, is a fighting game based off the anime and manga ''Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama. The game was released on the PlayStation 2 and Wii worldwide in 2007. It is the sequel to Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2. Gameplay Budokai Tenkaichi 3 features 161 characters, the largest character roster in any Dragon Ball Z game, as well as one of the largest in any fighting game. Ryo Mito once stated that the game would feature never-before-seen characters made exclusively for the game, although this has not been confirmed since the game's release. Gamestop offered an exclusive version with a bonus DVD containing the top 10 television series battles as voted by fans on the release date. Several new notable features include: Battle Replay, night and day stages, the Wii's online capability, and Disc Fusion. Battle Replay allows players to capture their favorite fights and save them to the hard drive to view later on. Night and day stages allow for more accurate battles in Dragon Ball History, as well as the ability to transform into a Great Ape by using the moon. There are also several other time differences, such as dawn and afternoon. Not all stages provide different times. You can also change the aura of your character. The Wii version features online multiplayer capability, the first game in the series to have such a feature. Players can fight against anyone from around the globe with a ranking system showing the player's current standing compared to anyone else who has played online. As compensation for the lack of online, Spike has added a new "Disc Fusion System" to the PlayStation 2 version. Inserting a Budokai Tenkaichi or Budokai Tenkaichi 2 disc during play unlocks Ultimate Battle or Ultimate Battle Z, modes featured in the respective games needed to unlock them. Other features in the game includes more combo attacks or character specific combos, the Blast Combos, and the Z Burst Dash. The additional combo attacks will be able to help chain in more attacks for more damage and longer combos. The Blast Combo is the normal combos however by inputting the another button into the attack will allow you to use a blast attack for extra damage. Depending on the moves of the character you might not be able to use this feat such as Videl or Hercule. The Z Burst Dash is much faster and more evasive version of the Dragon Dash. It allows the user to get behind the opponent at high speeds for either a strike or to avoid a blast 2 attack. The drawback to this technique is that it will rapidly drain you of energy. The new Gameplay elements Several new features have been added to Budokai Tenkaichi 3. These include: *'Blast Combo' - Players can now kick their opponent into the air and attack them again by quickly teleporting or flying behind them. *'Sonic Sway' - This technique simply allows the player to evade the opponents attacks. Since it takes longer for the attacker to get back into their fighting stance than it does the player dodging the attacks, the attacker is left with an open defense. The one evading can then quickly counter-attack their opponent. However, this feature only applies to physical attacks aimed for the upper part of the body; if the opponent aims for the player's legs, for example, they cannot evade the attacks. *'Z-Counter' - The ability to counter attacks by teleporting behind the enemy. This is a technique seen in the series many times. *'Z-Burst Dash' - An enhanced version of the dash attack from the previous games, this technique allows players to zig and zag as they move at high speed. *The addition of a new day and night system allows certain characters to harness the power of the moon to transform into a Great Ape. *With the addition of the Battle Replay mode, players can now capture all of their favorite fights and watch them again later on. There are also several camera angles you can use to swap views of the battle. *The Wii will no longer use the sensor bar. The game instead will use gestures and will provide a little animation at the bottom left corner of the screen to demonstrate how to perform techniques. *The game's story mode, called Dragon History, has been completely changed from the previous installments. Some cutscenes take place during the middle of a battle, interrupting the fight for a short time while the two characters talk, while others take place during the battle themselves. During in-game cutscenes, dialogue appears at the bottom of the screen as the player fights, and what each character says depends on how the match is going. Who wins and loses causes a change in the story line, essentially making the game a what-if scenario all the way through. The player can also issue one-hit KOs in story mode by dealing the blow used to kill their opponent in the source material. The story mode is also significantly shorter than previous installments. *A new Z-Point system replaces the leveling system from Tenkaichi 2. The more Z-Points a character has, the more Z-items can be equipped. Playable characters Each character in the game is based off their anime counterparts, thier seiyū and voice actors also partaking in the development of the game whenever possible. Each character has attacks and fighting styles more-or-less derived from the source material, i.e. Goku's Kamehameha and Vegeta's Galick Gun. Certain fighters also have abilities, or the lack thereof, exclusive only to a small group of characters. Also, Dragon Ball characters cannot fly in the series, and thus slowly descend back to the ground after taking flight in Budokai Tenkaichi 3. Reception The game has recieved a 32 out of 40 from the game magazine Famitsu for the Playstation 2 version. The Wii version recieved a 33 out of 40.http://www.the-magicbox.com/game20070927.shtmlIGN awarded both versions of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 an 8 out of 10, with their only complaints being the gimmicky Disc Fusion and the lagging Wi-Fi. References External links * Official Japanese site * [http://www.gamespot.com/news/6171184.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;2 Budokai Tenkaichi 3 at GameSpot] * [http://www.wii-volution.com/game-news/atari-announces-dragon-ball-z-budokai-tenkaichi-3.html Budokai Tenkaichi 3 at Wii-volution.com] * [http://search.gamespy.com/products?query=Dragon+Ball+Z%3A+Budokai+Tenkaichi+3 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 at GameSpy] * [http://www.gamershell.com/search/?q=Budokai+Tenkaichi+3 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 at GamersHell] Budokai Tenkaichi 3 Category: Fighting games